


Sanctuary

by SIFoote (TheMayWaters)



Series: Sanctuary Omega Verse [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alpha Asahi, Alpha Bokuto, Alpha Ennoshita, Alpha Kuroo, Alpha Ukai, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Beta Kenma, Beta Kiyoko, Beta Yachi, Beta Yamaguchi, Beta's are pretty much humans, Bokuto and Kuroo are best friends of course, Fluff, M/M, Omega Akaashi, Omega Hinata, Omega Iwaizumi, Omega Suga, Omega Takeda, Omega Tanaka, Romance, alpha daichi, alpha kageyama, alpha oikawa, omega Nishinoya, omega tsukishima, please criticize, save me this is the first time writing this thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-03-24 15:37:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13814208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMayWaters/pseuds/SIFoote
Summary: Trapped by Omega hunters, a string of young men go up for sale on the black market.





	1. Sendai

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing Alpha/Omega dynamics, so we’ll see how this goes. I’ve been doing a lot of research and reading plenty of fanfics so that I have an idea on how to do this properly. Criticism welcome.

 

Sugawara Kōshi opened the flap to the tent of their underground hideaway and passed a jug of water to Tsukishima Kei. He too passed the jug along until it reached the bedside of Hinata Shōyō.

“Go tend to the other children Suga, I’ll take care of him.” Tsukishima volunteered. His blond hair was dirty from the grime of the subway tunnel and it no longer looked blond.

“Are you sure?” Suga’s lips curved into a deep frown. His silver hair stuck up all over the place.

“I’ll help him take care of Shōyō.” Nishinoya Yū reassured. When they first met the small omega, his hair stuck straight up and added ten centimeters to his height. Years of life in the underground—on the run from omega raiders—left his hair pasted to his forehead and slick with oil.

“Thanks Noya, Tsukki.” Kōshi left the tent so he could tend to the other sick omega. They would be going hungry again that night to feed the others. Tsukishima looked up at Nishinoya and knew he was thinking the same thing.

“Why do we have to be a commodity?” Yū whispered.

“Because we live in a world of domineering Alpha that take pleasure in others submitting to their will.” Kei cleared his throat. “And we can give birth.”

“Hand me the washcloth over there. Shōyō needs a compress.”

* * *

_Run._

It was their first thought when the raiders walked into the middle of their camp in the subway system with their whips swinging. They grabbed whatever item was near them, or they ran as they were. No one bothered to look for their friends. As soon as the raiders showed up they dropped all friendly connections. The raiders were there for omegas and none of them wanted to be the next one captured for the black market.

Tsukishima felt something wrap around his ankle and he went down. His jaw hit the ground with a painful crack and he prayed that his glasses were still intact when he opened his eyes. They were. He clawed his pale hands into the hard concrete and his nails tore at the tips as the raider dragged him back. He threw his weight around so he flipped onto his back and he fought at the whip end with his other foot. His efforts were fruitless. The raider pulled him up by his shirt and examined his body.

“This one’s a good omega. Blond too, what a rarity in Japan.” The man snarled. “Even with the bruise on his jaw he’ll get a good price in the market.”

“Tie him up with the others.” Another shouted. His arms were pulled behind him and tied elbow to hand on either side. It was a precaution to make sure he wouldn’t be able to get his arms in front of him to untie any of their other captives.

“Tsukishima?” A faint voice muttered as he was dragged by the raider to the group of captured omegas.

The tall man looked up at the group and recognized his friends. All of the omega leaders were captured. Hinata was the one that spoke to him. He looked worse than Tsukishima did. His face swelled in multiple places and his orange hair was dirtied by the grime of their water well. His fingers were bleeding at the nails and one of them looked like it was missing.

“How did you all get captured?” Tsukishima muttered once the raider tied him up and wandered off to find another omega.

“We were trying to get the children out.” Sugawara mumbled. He sounded barely conscious of the situation. “They’re too little to get caught up in this.”

He didn’t bother to reply. He’d run without thinking about the others in their hideout.

“Weren’t you saying last week that you wanted to see what the Black Market is like, Akaashi?” Iwaizumi Hajime muttered darkly, his voice smooth and medium toned.

“I said I wanted to save some of our fellows from the market, not that I wanted to see it.” Akaashi Keiji returned with a bitter snap.

“Isn’t it the same difference, you’d be seeing the market either way.” Tsukishima mumbled under his breath. The others went quiet.

“I’m glad that it was us instead of the little kids. If they can get away and find another group of omegas then they’ll stay safe a while longer.” Tanaka Ryūnosuke told the group with a hopeful lilt to his tone.

“As long as the raiders don’t bring anyone else back, we’ll be fine.” Suga slumped his body against the rest and dropped his silver haired head onto Nishinoya’s shoulder since they were the closest together.

Tsukishima was the last the raiders caught and they looked angry about it. They hauled up the line and jabbed them to walk out of the subway tunnel and back onto the bright main streets in Tokyo.

“Take their picture and put them up online. We want a buyer as fast as possible.” The largest of the alphas ordered one of the smaller men. “Once they’re ready for transport put them in the warehouse and we’ll wait for a buyer. We’ve got another raid to do today.”

He obediently lined them up against the brick wall of an alley between two buildings and help up his cell phone to take pictures. Once the picture was complete, another alpha followed behind to apply some cheap scent patches to their main gland. The patch would hide their smell during transportation and keep them safe from harem style alphas and opposing raiders that wanted to steal another’s catch for the money.

The group of seven adults was led to a small warehouse space where three other groups of omega men were already waiting. Their ankles were tied together by a rough alpha guard for the space in order to insure they couldn’t do anything once the doors were closed.

“That group of seven already has a buyer in Miyagi.” They overhead one of the alpha’s say as the warehouse door ground to a start.

“Get them ready for shipment in the morning.” The leader called to a small alpha guard in the back of the room.

She jumped to attention and collected several rolls for the seven to eat. The other looked at the bread hungrily, but the seven ravenously tore apart the rations. They’d always made sure the kids ate before they did.

“Hey Suga,” Nishinoya whispered in the semi-lit space. His hair was pasted to his forehead and told them he didn’t bathe in the last round for the adults.

“What is it Noya?” Kōshi’s brown eyes drifted over the state of his pack mates. They were all worse for the wear because they consistently sacrificed themselves for the sake of the others. Noya’s clothes were torn and too big for his small frame. Sugawara could see the bones poking out of Yū’s skin and he knew that he was too thin to be healthy.

“The alpha we got sold to probably won’t be any better than living in the subway, will they?”

Suga rolled over so that his brown eyes met Nishinoya’s matching set. “I don’t know.”

“The reason omega’s are in this position is because alpha’s took over everything and we became prey rather than fellow people.” Tsukishima scoffed. “We all get caught inevitably and then we’re mated. It’s the circle of life.”

Tears welled in Noya’s eyes and he bit his lip to try and keep them from falling. Suga scooted closer across the floor and gently nuzzled the shorter male.

“We’ll hold out hope that there’s still some good alpha out there.”

“Suga’s right, we can’t give up yet.” Hinata agreed. He shuffled to sit up, his too long toenails scratched against the concrete. “We’re all being sold to the same place so we’ll still be there for each other.”

“My heat’s coming soon.” Akaashi mumbled. There was a crack as he let his head hit the ground. He whimpered in pain, a hint of fear leaked through the sound. Tanaka tried to send a scent of comfort to his distressed pack mate, but the patch on his neck blocked the smell.

“We’ll keep each other safe.” Iwaizumi whispered. “Let’s try and get some sleep before the travel in the morning.”

Their conversation died, but none of them slept.

* * *

In the morning they shuffled in their line back out into the dirty air and bright sunshine of Tokyo. They were loaded onto a small moving truck and their hands were strung up so that they were kept like meat against the wall. Nishinoya and Hinata were small enough that they hung off the metal floor.

The bumpy ride felt like forever. The small electronic watch that hung on Tsukishima’s belt told them it was four hours. They tried to converse with each other several times, but the alpha assigned to guard them growled whenever one of them spoke. The quiet ride made the two shorter males restless. They could no longer feel their aching joints because they were numb. Nishinoya was certain he’d look like a long-armed monkey after the ordeal.

When the truck rolled to a harsh stop, their ragdoll bodies swung along the wall. Suga arched his back as one of his spine bones came in contact with a screw sticking out of the wall. The back door rolled up and several alpha stood outside with Ak-15’s across their backs. Two alphas jumped up into the back and started to untie their hands. Their weight dropped back into their legs and the omega stumbled. One of the alpha guards lashed out at them with their foot and they recoiled in pain upon contact. They were brutally tied together again and then filed out of the vehicle. A single man stood on the sidewalk.

He had bleached blond hair pulled back under a headband. His sharp features and dark eyes bled the feeling that he was an alpha. His clothes weren’t business style or over the top, rather casual with a t-shirt and jeans, sandals on his feet. The seven men stared at him and tried to identify if they were about to be part of a harem.

“Your omegas.” The guard handed the rope to the man.

“Thank you. Your payment is already wired to your boss. I have the receipt of proof here.” He held up his phone and Hinata stared at the object. He hadn’t seen a phone since he was a child and an omega was lucky to earn one.

The alpha leered at the seven men before climbing back into the truck and driving away.

Their owner led them down the street to a wooden gate where two large alpha guards stood by a smaller omega man. He wore large glasses and clothing that was too big for him. They assumed that it was their new owner’s based on the size difference between the two.

“Ukai, you have them okay.” He looked relieved.

“Safe and sound. If not a little worse for the wear.” Ukai smiled and gestured to the omega’s bruises.

“We’ll get them cleaned up right away.” The omega gestured for them. “You’ll need baths, food and clothes. Don’t worry, you’re in safe hands here. I’m Takeda Ittetsu.”

Once they were inside the gate, it locked behind them and Ukai and Takeda worked to untie them. The omega shuffled together and hid the shortest behind them.

“It’s natural to be on edge in a foreign place.” Ittetsu gave them a soft smile. “Ukai and I are already mated, you don’t have to worry about being mated here.”

“This is an omega sanctuary we created after Takeda was purchased for me by my father. I didn’t intend on being with him at first, but after a while I fell for him. We decided to try and buy out omega from the black market, but we’re restricted by funds and we can’t buy from the same raiders too often.” Ukai explained. “I’ll leave to make you all more comfortable.”

He stepped out of the room and Takeda gently led them to a large shower area. The omegas scampered out of their clothes and darted for the streams of water. Their new owner took stock of the build of the young men and sighed. He collected sets of clothes that all looked the same, a loose white shirt with a string tie off at the collar and jeans for them to change into.

“Is Ukai-san the only alpha here?” Suga asked as he dried off and changed into the clean clothes.

“No, but Ukai only ever allows in alphas that we trust.” Takeda shook his head. “The world is pretty corrupt with their ownership of omegas and we want to change that. We’ve created safe spaces with support betas for omega heats. The omegas that choose to mate are allowed to choose their alpha instead of the other way around. Not everyone is required to leave. We’ll take care of you as long as you need. Since omegas can’t hold normal jobs out in the real world we rely on good alpha to provide funds for this place, but we haven’t struggled yet.”

He led them outside into the sunshine. The area was large and in the middle was a large fountain pond area with koi fish swimming around. A few omegas wandered around the space and into a lodge of bedrooms on the opposite side. Ukai talked to a man on the porch of nearby house that looked like the main house for Ukai and Takeda.

“You brought in a new group today?” They heard the man ask their owner.

“It’s the largest we’ve got our hands on recently.” Ukai nodded. “Come meet them.”

The two walked across the lawn and the omegas took several nervous steps backward. Two alphas were terrifying.

“This is Sawamura Daichi, one of the donators for our Sanctuary. He comes by often to drop off funds.” Takeda introduced. “It’s good to see you again Daichi-san.”

“I’m glad to see you’re doing well Takeda. I hear you’ll be having a pup soon.”

“Not too soon.” Ittetsu turned red. “I’m only a couple months along, it’ll be a while off yet.”

“Let me know if there’s anything I can help you with.” The smile that landed on the dark skinned male was gentle. He wasn’t like the overbearing alpha’s they expected to frequent the area.

“I will certainly contact you. Right now I should get these cuties off to some food. They look starved.”

“You haven’t taken their scent patches off yet.” Daichi noted. He narrowed his brown eyes as he took in the collection.

“I’ll have some betas do it later, just to avoid any trouble.” Takeda gently put a hand on one of the omega’s shoulders and started ushering them away. “Thank you again for visiting Daichi-san!”

“Yeah, see you later.” His eyes scanned over them one last time before he turned back to Ukai.

“Yo, Daichi, we gotta go. Work.” Two men peered out from the main house. The one was taller and had messy black hair that hung into his right eye. The other was shorter and his hair stuck straight up. It was two different colors of grey and with his large eyes, he looked like an overgrown owl.

“Hello new omegas!” The owl shouted over the courtyard.

“Bokuto, don’t fucking scare them.” Ukai yelled back. The younger alpha ducked his head away and disappeared inside the building.

“Some of you look like you need food.” Takeda ran his fingers over Nishinoya’s newly restored soft hair. “Have you been sacrificing yourselves for younger omega?”

“Yeah,” Suga whispered.

“Understandable. Children are important. You won’t have to do that here, eat as much as you’d like when we serve meals. We’ll get you lunch for now, I don’t know how long it’s been since you last ate.”

“The raiders gave us a roll each last night.” Akaashi admitted.

“You boys need more food than that.” Takeda pat their cheeks softly, like a parent, and led them into a dining area. Several beta, male and female, laid out dishes of food across the table and seven empty spots were set for them to sit.

“So, you’re pregnant?” Suga asked Takeda slowly as he sat at the table.

“Yes, it’s our first. We didn’t think it was going to happen for a while because I’m in my thirties now, but this little miracle is here.” Ittetsu placed a warm hand on his stomach. “I’m really excited since I know that my alpha is here only for me.”

“What happens to the omegas that never find a mate from this place?” Tsukishima questioned quietly. He had little food on his plate. Suga reached across the table to put more food on.

“Sometimes we are able to disguise them as betas which allows them to exist in the world and own a job while staying here for room and board and protection during heat every three months, but most end up living here permanently. They become friends with the alpha’s and do some minor work for them when they can to help them earn an income and turn support back to the Sanctuary. With that support we can bring in more people like you guys.” He paused. “Are any of you approaching heat?”

“I am,” Akaashi raised a nervous hand.

“We’ll start getting a nest set up for you in one of the empty rooms. Betas will attend you during your heat so there won’t be anything to worry about. No alphas will disturb you unless you want them, but I highly doubt you will right away.” Takeda chuckled. He waved down one of the beta women moving through the room. She had short black hair and a beauty mark by her lower lip. “Kiyoko-san, you’ll inform the others about an approaching heat, won’t you?”

“Of course,” she nodded and bowed out of the room.

The seven finished eating and were showed the way back to the courtyard.

“There’s not a lot outside, but you can play any games you’d like. There’s a library as well that you can explore inside the main house. The danger with going into the main house is that alphas often frequent the space since they’re associates working with Keishin.” None of them moved. “This is probably too much for you all to take in. Let me introduce you to the betas that help out around here and then you’re free to do what you’d like.”

“You haven’t asked for our names.” Iwaizumi commented slowly.

“You’ll tell us in time if you’d like. No pressure to give us anything, this is all for you.” Takeda put out a hand for the betas. Six people stepped toward them, four of them male. “This is Yamaguchi Tadashi, Yachi Hitoka, Shimizu Kiyoko, Kinoshita Hisashi, Narita Kazuhito, and Kozume Kenma.”

“We’ll be your aids if you need anything.” The freckly, baby-faced man named Yamaguchi gave them a dazzling smile.

“Where do we sleep?” Hinata mumbled.

“I’ll show you!” Yachi perked up and her blonde hair swung around her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time writing alpha/omega dynamics, so we’ll see how this goes. I’ve been doing a lot of research and reading plenty of fanfics so that I have an idea on how to do this properly. Criticism and tips welcome. Also discovered, driving wise, Sendai is over four hours from Tokyo (the city).


	2. On Guard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna wait ten days to update this because I like to update on the same day every month when I have a monthly schedule, but I decided to change the update date instead so I'm not shoving all my stories too close together. This will now update on the third of every month instead of the thirteenth! Any constructive criticism on the A/B/O aspects are welcome.

There sleeping quarters were small, but nice. It fit seven futons with elbow room.  They couldn’t put much else in the area, but they were happy to have it. Each of them claimed one of the spaces and rubbed their scents into the material so that the others would know who slept where.

“It’s hard to believe that we were brought to a place like this.” Suga murmured into the pillow.

“After what we went through on a day to day basis in the underground, I’m worried that this place will be boring.” Nishinoya threw his arms out so he laid across his bed like a star.

“That’s a legitimate worry.” Iwaizumi agreed.

There was a knock at the door before the freckly beta with a cow lick peered at them from the door. “Apologies for disturbing you, I was sent to remove the scent patches on your neck.”

“Come on in,” Akaashi greeted. “I’m Akaashi Keiji.”

“Yamaguchi Tadashi.” He stepped into the room and closed the door. He held a small device in one hand that he plugged into the wall. “I’ll take them off one at a time.”

“What does that do?” Hinata shied away from the object in his hand.

“It’s a device that makes steam. We use it to release the adhesive on the patches so that it doesn’t pull at your skin when we take them off. It’s a gentler process.”

Akaashi moved to him first and Yamaguchi waved the steam back and forth across the patch until the edges started to peel. He placed his fingers under them and pulled the patch back. It was a slow process, but the omega felt well cared for by the end of it. Each of them rubbed at the place once the patch was gone before they nuzzled each other to restore their scents as a pack.

“We’ll call you when dinner is ready.” Tadashi left the room.

* * *

The next day, Tsukishima decided to brave the house in search of reading material. Akaashi volunteered to go with him. They received instructions on how to access the library from Yachi before they went into the house. They couldn’t smell any Alpha in the premises, so they rushed to the second floor together. The library was large and the two omega felt that they could become distracted in the shelves for hours on end. After years of separation from culture, they craved it.

The pair quickly ducked through the shelves and grabbed the ones with the most colorful spines and covers. They went through sections they wouldn’t normally read because the others might enjoy them—or they would want to find more about the world now that they were allowed to. Tsukishima heard the door open downstairs, but he couldn’t identify if it was the front or back door of the house—until he smelled the alpha’s. One of them was approaching their rut, but the smell wasn’t his type. He heard books clatter to the floor and Tsukishima wandered through the shelves until he found Akaashi on the floor. He clutched at the front of his shirt and Kei could _smell_ Keiji’s rising heat.

“Shit,” Akaashi whispered. “It’s early.”

“Probably induced by the alpha with starting rut.” Tsukki muttered.

“It smells good.” He panted. “How are we going to get out of here?”

“Haven’t got a clue.”

Tsukishima scanned the room. There was a window to the backyard a few feet away and he darted for it. He lifted up the latch and pushed the window open. It aired out the room a bit and relieved part of the omega’s scent from the room. Kei looked down to the courtyard and tried to identify any of the faces.

“Suga,” he shouted. The silver haired man looked up to the window.

“Hey Tsukki,” the omega greeted. “Finding good books?”

“Akaashi went into an early heat. We’re trapped up here because of the alpha downstairs.”

“I’ll see if I can find help.”

Suga ran for the beta helpers around the yard and Tsukishima returned to Akaashi’s side. He rubbed soothing circles onto Keiji’s back and helped hold his arms away from his lower body. Akaashi couldn’t start anything here, he needed to be in a safe environment.

* * *

The beta told Suga that they would try and locate Ittetsu. Since he was a pregnant omega, the alpha wouldn’t want to harm him. If the beta tried to move Akaashi without a safeguard, they’d be too weak to fend off an alpha if the heat triggered a rut. Suga didn’t know what to do. Too tempted to try and help his friends, he darted into the house and hid behind the staircase leading to the second floor. He could smell Akaashi from here and he was certain that through the open office door at the foot of the stairs, the alpha could smell him as well. Kōshi peered around the railing of the stairs and into the office space. The three alpha from the day before stood in the room with their owner, Ukai. The two alpha with black hair had their arms linked through the silver haired male’s and held him back. Their muscles rippled with the effort of keeping an alpha in rut at bay from an omega in heat.

The tallest in the group placed a large hand on the alpha’s shoulder and lifted a hand to slap the man hard across the face. Suga winced at the force, but the alpha went slack in his arms.

“You’re going to make Ukai hate us.” The man warned.

“Ittetsu told me last night that one of the new omega was approaching their heat. I should’ve thought to mention it when I knew Bokuto was almost on his rut.” Ukai waved it off. “It’s a mutual fault, I know Bokuto would normally never seek to ruin the purpose of my sanctuary.”

The back door opened and Suga looked to find a harried Takeda running toward the office door. Several beta on his heels.

“Closing this for the time being.” He grabbed the handle on the door and yanked it shut. Ittetsu looked at Suga. “Thank you for notifying the beta. You’ll help us get him, right?”

“Of course.”

Takeda remained on guard at the door while the beta and omega ran up the stairs. They helped Akaashi stand and then walk down the stairs and back into the sanctuary courtyard. The beta ushered him into a minimally prepared heat room. Kiyoko exited the room and returned with more neutral smelling blankets and pillows for the omega to use to build a proper nesting ground.

* * *

Bokuto Kōtarō sunk to the floor of the office and buried his face in his hands. They could smell the tears rolling down his cheeks.

“I’m so sorry.” He choked out.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Kuroo Tetsurō bent down in front of his friend. “You didn’t attack him, you stayed put. You’re fine.”

“Daichi,” Ittetsu opened the door and peered into the room. “Can I grab your help with something.”

“Is it okay for me to be out there?”

“He’s in a heat room. Everyone is safe.”

“Kuroo, do you—”

“I have this under control.” The man answered his question.

Daichi nodded and followed Takeda up the stairs into the library. While it smelled faintly of the omega, the open window helped air out the area.

“He was smart to open it,” he pointed down the row.

“One of the others was in here with him, I think he thought of it.” Ittetsu moved to one of the rows. “They were getting books from what I can tell. Can you help me get these in a pile and carry them down. I don’t want their effort to go to waste.”

Daichi immediately jumped to stack the books in a pile for the second time. They found a stack from that the other omega neatly set aside and Takeda took that pile to carry. When they stepped out the back door, the group looked at them in surprise.

“The books you were looking at.” Ittetsu offered as an explanation.

“Thank you.” The tall blond reverently took the books from Takeda and held them close. The silver haired omega stepped up to take the larger pile from Daichi.

“It’s a pleasure to see you again.” The man smiled. Daichi rubbed the back of his neck.

“Yeah, had to stop in again today for a short meeting.”

“Thank you, for holding the alpha back. I saw through the open door.”

“No problem, I’m sure Bokuto might come by in a week or so to give a formal apology. He doesn’t want to do anything to hurt you guys.”

“That’s kind of him.” The omega shuffled the books in his arms and held out a hand.

“Sugawara Kōshi.”

“Sawamura Daichi.” The alpha restated. He wasn’t sure the omega remembered his name from the day before.

“I’ll take those from you Suga.” A short omega with bright red hair volunteered.

“Thanks, Hinata.” He passed the pile off to his friend.

“Noya, Tanaka, what book do you want to read first?” He rushed off to the others.

“Have you guys been together long?” Daichi pointed between Sugawara and the rest of the group.

“Since we presented and had to go on the run.” The silver haired man gripped his opposite elbow and looked at the ground. “I was in the underground the longest out of our group since I’m the oldest. Akaashi, Tanaka and Noya were close behind me though.”

“I’m sorry to hear about that. It sucks that you have to hide as omegas.”

“You get used to it after a while.” Suga shrugged.

“You shouldn’t have to.” Daichi breathed in and looked away from the omega. “I’ll bring something by next time that might entertain you guys. I’ve heard that it can get a little boring here. Of course, if you ever want to learn how to do some simple work we can provide some.”

“We’ll talk about it once Akaashi isn’t incapacitated.”

“No problem. Let me know if you guys have any special requests and I’ll see what strings I can pull with Ukai. The Sanctuary is meant to be a safe place for you.”

“I think we’ll be fine with a home now.” Kōshi bowed his head. “Thanks again for helping with the books.”

“Suga, I can’t read this word.” Hinata pointed at a page in the book he held.

“Coming.”

* * *

Akaashi emerged a week later from his heat and he looked drained. His clothes hung loosely off his shoulder and there were dark bags under his eyes. The omega immediately swarmed their friend when he stepped out of the protected heat room.

“Are you alright?” Suga placed a warm hand on his shoulder.

“I’m fine, just tired.” Akaashi leaned into the oldest of their group and nuzzled into the scent gland on his neck.

“Takeda and Daichi brought out the books you’d gathered. We’ve been working our way through them.”

“That was nice of them.”

Suga helped Akaashi walk down the short set of stairs so he could join their main group on the green grass.

“Akaashi!” Hinata and Noya cheered. They didn’t dare jump him because they knew he’d be weak, but they did approach.

“Hey guys.” Akaashi ruffled Hinata’s hair and eased himself onto the ground. “Hand me one of those books.”

Tsukishima grabbed one from the pile Akaashi assembled the week before and passed the thin paperback.

“I got a present for you guys.” Takeda said as he wandered across the courtyard. “Though I supposed it’s not much of a present.”

“What is it?” Tanaka leaned back on his hands.

“It’s a calendar to keep track of your heats. I’m sure you know your general schedule well and we had a minor slip up with a rut induced heat last week. Sincerest apologies Akaashi.” He bowed to his fellow omega. “We thought it might be a good idea to keep track of your heats since you’re new. Then we can keep any Alpha that are approaching their rut away from the main house and avoid a situation like that in the future.”

“That’s a great idea, Takeda-san.” Iwaizumi agreed. He reached out a hand for the calendar and pen. He immediately filled out the week that he was expecting his heat in the next three months before be passed it to Hinata.

“Are alphas safe to come out there?” Ukai called through the courtyard from the porch.

“Are any of them approaching rut? We’re still doing the calendar.”

Ukai ducked his head back into the house before he responded. “No.”

“Send them out.”

“Hello Daichi,” Suga greeted the one alpha he knew from the group.

“I brought some entertainment, hopefully, as promised, Suga.” The alpha pulled a blue and yellow volleyball out from behind his back.

“Volleyball.” He reached greedily for the object. Lust bled into his eyes and Daichi subconsciously took a step back. He tossed the ball gently to the omega instead and he caught it deftly. Kōshi closed his eyes and pressed his nose to the synthetic leather and took a deep breath. “I missed this.”

“You play?”

“I used to be a setter before I presented.” He turned to the other boys. “Tanaka.”

The omega jumped up immediately. Suga batted the ball to him with his hand, the omega returned it and Kōshi placed his fingers up for the set. Noya suddenly jumped from his spot in the grass and rushed to the other side. Tanaka hit the spike down and Nishinoya made a clean receive, sending it to Akaashi who had stumbled into the opposing setter position.

‘This is going to be fun!” Hinata cheered as he took the set from Akaashi.

“Now all we need is a net.” Tsukishima agreed.

“We’ll see what we can do.” A man with messy black hair leaned against Daichi’s shoulder. Suga recognized him as one of the men that held back the alpha in heat a week previous.

“What position did you used to play?” The alpha directed his question at Noya. His brown hair pulled into a bun.

“Libero. There was this one guy, Ushijima I think his name was. He was left handed and when I first played him I couldn’t receive any of his stuff, but then I managed it one day and it felt brilliant. It was thrilling to play against him.”

“Nishinoya Yū?” One of the other alpha asked. He had pretty brown eyes and perfectly styled hair.

“Uh, yeah. How’d you know?”

“You are the only person recorded that has managed to pull off a clean receive against Ushijima’s spikes and serves. Everyone wondered what happened to you.”

“I presented and had to run.” His mouth flattened into a thin line.

“We’ll get you guys a net.” Daichi turned the conversation back. “Then you can play some real games.”

“Thank you.” Suga picked up the fallen ball and held it close to his chest.

“Is the omega that went into heat here?” The bedhead asked.

Akaashi cautiously raised his hand. The group of alpha turned back to the house where a man with white and gray hair stood anxiously on the porch. Ukai held him back by his bicep. With his hair styled straight up he looked like an owl. He walked forward slowly when Ukai released his arm. The other alpha looked ready to grab him if he tried to rush forward. When he reached the omega, he fell onto his knees and he bowed low to the ground.

“I’m sorry for what happened last week.”

“Oh,” Akaashi glanced at his friends. They shrugged. “It’s not really something you could fully control.”

He bent down and gently brushed his hand across the alpha’s head like he would do with his fellow omega.

“You don’t have to be concerned since you didn’t attack me. You were polite and contained. It’s a nice change.”

“And we’ll be avoiding those issues in the future.” Takeda snapped the calendar closed once it was fully filled out. He handed it to the pretty alpha to take back to Ukai. “Akaashi-kun, do you need help with anything else?”

Keiji shook his head and stood. “I’m fine.”

“We’ll take good care of him.” Suga volunteered.

“Alright alpha boys, back to work.” Takeda directed them away.


	3. A Volleyball Net

“Where is Suga today?” Daichi asked the group of Omega as he dug a hole in the yard for one of the volleyball posts. He had two other alpha with him. The pretty alpha and one that looked like he was always angry. Sawamura’s black hair was pasted to his forehead and the pretty alpha loved to taunt him.

“Heat room.” The tall blond was uninterested in the conversation.

“Ah,” Sawamura nodded. He looked across to the other two. “Oikawa, would you actually help dig the holes instead of riling up Kageyama.”

“But you’re doing just a good job digging those holes on your own Dai-chan.” The pretty alpha replied. “Look at those rippling muscles go.”

“I won’t hesitate to murder you right here and now.”

“Fine, fine. Tobio-chan, dig the hole.”

Kageyama glared at him.

“I knew I should’ve brought Asahi with me today.”

“Rude!” Oikawa pressed his hand to his chest and pretended to fall from the wound. “I’m obviously superior to Asahi. He’s a little scaredy cat.”

“He actually does work though.”

“Hand me a shovel Tobio-chan.” The alpha gladly handed over the tool.

“Start mixing the concrete in the five gallon bucket over there Kageyama. There should be a drill with the mixing attachment around somewhere.” Daichi reached up and swiped away some sweat from his brow.

“I’ll find it.”

“Oikawa, your hole needs to be wider or we won’t be able to get the post and concrete in the ground.”

The back door to the main house opened and the alpha with a man bun stepped out.

“I thought you might need some extra hands with Oikawa and Kageyama together.”

“That’d be great Asahi.” Daichi grinned at him. “Can you weld the spikes onto the bottom of the posts? We still need to cut the support rebar too so we can shove it down into the holes.”

“No problem, I know that work the best.”

“Asahi, what did you mean with me and Tobio-chan here together?” Oikawa asked the burly giant as he fitted on a welding mask and gloves.

“I meant that you always pick on him because you know he’ll start a fight.”

“Does no one have faith in me?”

“Oikawa, how long have we known you? You’ve never given us a reason to believe in you.”

“Even Kuroo is never this mean to me.”

“That’s because he has to deal with Bokuto.” Kenma muttered as he passed by them. He had a plate of strength sustaining food in his hands and a bag of water bottles. The beta headed into the housing area for the heat rooms.

“Does he hang out with Kuroo much anymore?”

“I don’t know. Probably. They are childhood friends.”

“Do you need help with that hole, Oikawa?” Asahi lifted the mask on his face and tossed the finished post and spikes to the ground. It bounced several times and kicked up dust.

“You do your job and I’ll do mine.” The alpha grumbled. “I’ll dig this damn hole better than Dai-chan.”

“Damn it, I got too much water.” Kageyama reached for the dry bag of concrete at his feet.

Daichi finished digging his hole and stepped over to the finished post. He took a pair of straps from the pocket of his work outfit and attached it on the top. The omega watched the alpha as a group. Stalking their movements with their eyes and rating the value of the potential partners—if they didn’t already have a bond mate.

“Why do you wear those big black boots?” Hinata asked.

“They’re protection against the concrete. If we accidentally step into it or it spills, it won’t ruin our clothes.” Daichi explained. “They’ll be the most handy once we start putting the posts in.”

“How long do we have to wait to play?” Nishinoya looked into the deep hole that Daichi dug.

“We won’t bring the net for another few days. Concrete will be solid in a few hours, but we want to make sure that it’ll hold before we string up a net. Has to be able to take some impact in case someone crashes into the net.”

Asahi tossed the other post to the side and started cutting the rebar that they would drive into the ground to help anchor the cement.

“You guys are making quicker process than I thought.” A new alpha walked down the porch steps. He was tall and looked mean. His red hair was black at the tips and his muscles rippled with every step.

“Hey Kagami. Is Kuroko not with you today?” Daichi placed a hand horizontal to his eyebrows to block out the sun.

“I’m right here.” The blue haired man popped out behind the alpha. He had large round eyes and didn’t have much presence as an omega.

“We’re looking for Ukai and Takeda. Have you seen them?”

“They weren’t in the main house?” Oikawa stood up and stretched his shoulders back.

“Didn’t run into them. Thought they might be out here.”

“Anything we can help you with?” Asahi stepped away from his job and handed Daichi the anchors.

“Tetsuya wanted to discuss something with Takeda. We might have to come back later.” Kagami pulled Kuroko closer to his side and kept a protective arm around his neck.

“OH!” Oikawa exclaimed. “Tetsu-chan, are you pregnant?”

“Yeah,” he nodded slowly. The Alpha immediately made to swarm him for congratulations, but Kagami growled and they backed off. Kuroko tugged at the alpha’s sleeve. “Taiga.”

“Sorry.”

“To think that Riko-san still tells stories about when Kuroko was touch starved.” Daichi teased.

“It’d be great if she’d stop telling those stories. It was in high school.”

“What underground clan did you come from? We came from the one under Mosaic Street in Tokyo.” Hinata popped up next to his fellow omega.

“I came from a breeding house.”

“Breeding house?” Iwaizumi’s left eyebrow shot up his forehead.

“You never want to be in one.” Oikawa shook his head. “They’re disgusting.”

“Almost done with that hole Tōru?” Daichi placed one of the rebar spikes into his hole and started to pound it into the stiff dirt.

“Stop teasing me about my hole!”

“On second thought, I’m going to leave.” Kuroo’s amused voice from the porch made all the alpha look up at him. “I didn’t realize you were into Alpha’s Daichi.”

“Hey Kuroo.” Daichi ignored the slight on his character. “Come show Oikawa how a hole is dug, yeah?”

“It’s a perfectly usable hole!”

“You can’t fit a post in that.” Asahi argued. He picked up the waiting post and showed it in comparison to the space Tōru created. “It’s too big.”

“My hole is not too small! Your post is too big.”

“What on earth are you guys talking about out here?” Ukai stepped out of the omega shower area with a half empty box of tile. “I will not have sexual talk in the omega garden.”

“We’re talking about the volleyball post hole, Ukai-san.” Daichi covered his mouth with his hand, but the guffaws slipped past his fingers.

“In that case, your hole is too small Oikawa.”

“Stop making fun of my hole!”

“Give that shovel, you idiot.” Kuroo snatched the object away from his fellow alpha and immediately went to work on the space.

“Kagami, how can I help you today?” Ukai turned to the new alpha and his mate.

“We had some questions about omega pregnancies because Tetsuya is expecting.” The man’s entire face was a dark shade of red.

“Momoi-san wasn’t much help because she’s a female omega.” Kuroko piped up.

“Right. If you two wanna head into the bathroom, Ittetsu is working on the grouting. I wouldn’t let him cut or place the tile because it’s too dangerous so he insisted on completing this part of the repair job.”

“Thank you, Ukai-san.” Kuroko dragged his mate into the bathrooms.

“Takeda’s always been a little stubborn about that, hasn’t he?” Asahi laughed.

“Wait until you have your own omega, Azumane. You’ll be eating your words.”

* * *

 

The alpha left once the main part of their job was complete. The omega decided to line up several large rocks to outline a small court. They could play as long as they didn’t bump into the large poles—the concrete hadn’t set yet—but they ran into a problem when they realized they only had one setter. Since Suga was occupied with his heat, Akaashi was the only person available to them.

“Kenma,” Ukai barked across the yard. The beta hastened to his boss’ side.

“Yes sir?”

“You used to play the setter position in high school. Join one of their teams so they can play.”

Kenma didn’t looked pleased about the arrangement, but he obeyed. At the end of the first match, he wound up liking the play style of the omega named Hinata.

“You’re so cool, Kenma.” The omega complimented. He bounded around the game stage.

“Kuroo used to tell me that during high school, but I don’t like running around too much.” He admitted.

“You definitely seem like the type.” Akaashi agreed quietly. “I never liked it much either—except when a powerful spike went through. I’ve missed that feeling during my years in the underground.”

“What were those times like?”

“Terrible.” Noya whispered. “Once we presented we either had to let our parents sell us or run. If you ran, the hunters would come after you.”

“They don’t stop at anything to get what they want.” Tsukishima agreed. “Some children present way too early and they ended up with us.”

“Suga didn’t eat most of the time we lived in the underground because the children needed the food more.” Hinata brought his legs up to his chest and rested his chin on top of them. “He’s the oldest out of our group.”

“When we were brought here, I had the first shower I’d had in years.” Tanaka agreed. “On the last run-in with the hunters we tried to get the children out of the way first—barely managed it.”

“Tsukishima was the last one of us to be caught. We were the oldest out of all those omega, I don’t know what they’ll do now.” Iwaizumi shook his head.

“Use the skills we taught them to stay alive.” Akashi commended forcefully. “They’re good kids. I have no doubt they’ll stay in the underground for a while.”

“Everyone leaves eventually.” Hinata worried his fingers. “We’re the lucky ones.”

He had a point.

* * *

 

“Can’t I just have a short heat one of these times, always so long.” Suga complained as he stumbled out of the heat rooms nine days later. His heats were always longer than average as where Tsukishima and Iwaizumi spent the least amount of time with their primal instincts.

“You have too much libido from taking care of Tanaka, Hinata, and Noya.” Akaashi teased him. The alpha, who were visiting to put up the net officially, turned red.

“Kill me now.” He eased himself onto the grass and noticed their guests for the first time. “Oh, uh, sorry guys.”

“We brought the net to put up.” Asahi offered as a way to move the conversation.

“They put up the posts while you were in heat. Their conversation sounded like sex jokes and Ukai got mad at them. It was kind of funny.” Hinata bubbled.

“I’m sad to have missed out on that. Although, I might’ve died laughing that day.” Suga ruffled the small omega’s hair.

“We’d be willing to talk about Oikawa’s hole again.” Kuroo tugged back on the top rope to secure the net to the post.

“I am not comfortable with you guys discussing my hole ever again. You said it was too small.” Tōru grumbled as he pulled at the other side of the net.

“It was too small. Kuroo had to fix it.” Daichi rolled his eyes. “Kageyama, grab that bottom string there and pull against me so we get it even.”

The alpha did as told and the set of four finished installing the volleyball play area. Asahi already spray painted the lines onto the grassy playfield.

Kuroo whistled lowly. “We ought to test it out. Oikawa, give me a set.”

“You’re not a wing spiker.” Daichi nudged the taller man.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t spike.”

“Kageyama, give me one once they’re done.” He rolled his shoulders.

“Aw, Dai-chan. I’m so insulted you don’t want one of my sets. You know they make you feel the best. No one can beat my skill on the court.” Oikawa wiggled his finger through the air. “I know how to pleasure the people that play for me.”

Kageyama glared at him through the net. “How do you manage to make everything sound sexual?”

“If we count the beta, we’ve got five setters in this group. I think that’s a problem.” Akaashi stood up from his spot on the grass. “Besides, isn’t this net for us?”

“Well,” Daichi started, “if you’d ever like to, we’d be willing to play a game with you guys.”

“We might have to take you up on that offer if we can get proper teams together.” Suga smiled. “We’ve got a full team on our side. Libero and all.”

“Omega versus alpha.” Oikawa’s eyes widened and a sadistic smile slid onto his face. “That’s a game I’d kill for.”

“Just for that comment, we’re making Kageyama our setter.”

“Kuroo!” The alpha whined.

“We’ll come back once we have a team.” Daichi decided. “So practice so we can play a real game. Good luck going forward as well. Hopefully, no more difficult heats and whatnot.”

“Thank you, Daichi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a writer, I can't resist combining my two favorite sports anime. If any of you are interested in learning about Kagami and Kuroko in the dynamics, let me know. Considering writing it as a side story to this.
> 
> Also, guess who graduates with a BA on Friday! #MayTheFourthBeWithYou


	4. Omake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little aside that goes more into depth about the omega taking a much needed mental health break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it's just an omake to the rest of the story. I couldn't bring myself mentally to write a full chapter because I've been struggling with stuff and my parents are putting a lot of pressure on me. Plus I still haven't come out to them as a demisexual and it's pride month, but every time I try to bring it up it goes south with them... Whelp. Anyway. Full chapter next month, promise!

 

“Let go of me!” Suga screamed. Strong arms tangled around his waist and hands from a second attacker pulled at his clothes.

“Be a good omega now. Wandering the streets during your heat—you should’ve known better. Or did you want to be fucked?”

“Get off. I don’t want it.” Suga’s voice cracked.

“Because that’s why you’re out here during you heat. Because you don’t want it.” One of the men laughed. Kōshi kicked his legs, but he couldn’t connect with anything humanlike.

“I don’t. I don’t. Let go.”

There was a crack and a larger alpha than before stood over him. The bodies of his attackers slumped to the ground next to him. Suga watched as the Alpha’s fangs grew larger—the woman wanted to claim. Her blonde hair swung around her shoulders as she turned away from him.

“Get out of here.” She barked.

* * *

 

Sugawara woke from his memory and gasped into his pillow.

“Suga?” Hinata’s voice floated over to him across the room. His high pitch indicated his worry.

“I’m fine, Hinata.”

“You don’t sound okay.” Noya scrambled out of his bed and pulled the oldest omega’s head into his lap.

“Nightmare. Sorry.”

“About?” Iwaizumi mumbled into his pillow.

“The first time I presented.”

None of them replied. Noya’s grip tightened around Sugawara’s head, but he kept the same soft movements through the strands of his hair.

“I brought all the books in here yesterday, want to stay in?” Tsukishima offered.

“Hand me one.” Kōshi smiled at him gratefully.

* * *

 

For the next week they only appeared out of their rooms for meals and they would quickly duck past any alpha visitors. If the alpha were insulted by their actions, they didn’t show it. Takeda made sure to keep conversation on what the group was up to during their down time instead of asking why they didn’t want to be in the renovated courtyard.

Tanaka and Noya were the first to get annoyed by being cooped up in the room and they started playing in the yard. They wanted to play volleyball, but since Noya was a libero, they were out of luck on a real game. Hinata and Iwaizumi joined them a day later. Suga and Tsukishima were the last two in the group to leave the room at the end of two weeks. They were more refreshed and Kōshi forgot about his memory enough to play a friendly game.

Ukai surprised them by buying some new board games that the group played with other omega in the Sanctuary. It was the first time they bonded with omega outside of their group of seven. The others were nice, but they had jobs to tend to around the compound. It made the new omega feel like they took their purchase for granted.

Hinata started to fall back in the slump of not wanting to move, but the other encouraged him out of the room. They asked Takeda for chores they could complete in the yard and inside and helped other omega prepare for heats in the heat rooms. It was therapeutic and upon the return of the alpha into their life, they were able to communicate a little easier. Things weren’t perfect for any of them, but they had hope of fun and work again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do have plans to reveal the alpha that saved Suga that time. So, pertinent information.


	5. Auction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story of Takeda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's an AU so I messed with the ages a little bit.

A blindfold rested over Takeda Ittetsu’s eyes. He stood in a room that echoed whenever anyone moved. He could hear the collective breathing of an audience in front of him, but he didn’t recognize the voices. A scraping next to him made him assume a chair was pulled forward across the hollow stage.

“Now this prize is particularly interesting. They have a more alpha like smell because the undertones of pine, but overall they smell like a piñon nut. It’s quite attractive and strong. Based on the omega’s actions we can assume they are approaching a heat and are at the prime of child rearing years. The omega does have a broken ankle due to a struggle with the omega hunters, but they don’t need ankles for you to fuck ‘em.”

Takeda swallowed hard.

“We’ll start the bidding at forty-thousand yen because of their injury. Forty-thousand from the woman in the back. Do I hear forty-five?”

It continued on for a while until the omega was sold for one-hundred and twenty-five. Takeda swallowed as the omega next to him was untied from the chair and bound in shackles. Hands closed around him and his chair and he had to stop himself from lashing out. He was blindfolded, but he knew what they planned. They weren’t afraid to hurt him and sell him for less—even in front of the alpha buyers. It’s what they expected because he was an omega. He bit his lip to try and fight the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. It didn’t help.

“This is a particularly nice specimen for our auction. Not only does he smell like lavender and sugar cane, but he’s unharmed. There’s not a scratch on his body, I personally inspected him.”

Takeda’s toes curled into the bottoms of his feet. He was blindfolded then too the alpha had made sure to inspect _all_ of him. With an omega, it wasn’t rape.

“From the looks of his age, I would say that he’s only had one heat thus far—prime time for an alpha to stake his claim. Because of his age, we’re starting the bidding at a higher price. Starting offer will be one-hundred and fifty thousand yen. Do I hear anyone for this price? Yes the gentleman in the back with the white suit. One-hundred and fifty five. To the man with the beard on the front row. One-hundred and sixty.”

Takeda’s heart rate continued to increase the longer the bidding went on. A breeze broke through the hall as someone pushed the door open and he shuddered. His bound hands didn’t allow him to curl in on himself to try and stay warm. Footsteps echoed across the hall as the newcomer joined them.

“Three-hundred thousand.” They announced.

“Three-hundred from our newest gentleman in the yellow sweater. Do I hear three-hundred and five?”

Nobody spoke up.

“Sold for three-hundred.”

Hands fell onto Takeda’s body again and they wrapped his limbs in heavy chains. He was pulled from the chair and led down a set of stairs. Another person placed a collar around his neck. A rope that led from the piece dragged him forward. The buyer led him out of the building and pushed down on his head so that he stumbled into a vehicle.

“Take off his blindfold.” The buyer ordered as the car moved forward. Takeda cringed at the sudden light in his eyes. “Ah, such pretty eyes hidden behind those glasses.”

The man leaned forward. His hand lifted Takeda’s chin and inspected him at different angles.

“You’ll be my son’s omega. I plan to surprise him on his twenty-first birthday with you.” The buyer sat back in his seat and folded his hands together. “My name is Ukai Teishin.”

“Pleasure to meet you, sir.” Takeda bowed in his seat. His hands balled into fists at the unfairness of the situation, but he was caught by the omega hunters.

“Well, my son will make good use of you I’m sure. Marking will of course be mandatory upon your next heat cycle.” Teishin paused. “I trust that there will be no issues from you. I’m not afraid to take legal action. I bought you. You’re my property.”

“Yes sir, no problems.”

“Omega like you are hard to find. We’ll be home in ten minutes.”

“Understood.”

They remained quiet for the rest of the ride. Takeda spent the time trying to remember when his last heat was so he could take a guess as to his next one. If he had a choice, he’d ask to have the mating and marking postponed until he was a little older, but his owner didn’t want that for him. At the house, a beta servant opened the car door for them. Ukai Teishin didn’t wait for the omega. He stepped out of the vehicle in front of him and didn’t offer any assistance or acknowledgement that Takeda was still in the car.

Ittetsu scrambled from the seat to follow after the alpha.

“Keishin, I have something for you.” The man called through his house as soon as they stepped into the entry way.

“What is it?” A man not much older than Takeda stepped out of, what Ittetsu assumed was the kitchen, with a sandwich in his hand. His hair was dyed blond and pushed back into a messy do with a hair band. “Why’d you get me a person?”

Teishin sighed. “You haven’t had your first rut yet, but surely you know that this is an Omega.”

“Why the hell did you buy an omega?”

“I bought it for you. Your situation is getting more desperate the longer you go without presenting as an alpha. On his next heat, I plan on you claiming and marking him. I’m sure an omega’s heat would induce your rut.”

“You’re sick, father.”

“I’m simply doing what is best for you.”

“You didn’t even ask me if I wanted it. I’m find with how I am right now.” Keishin argued. “I’m not an alpha that needs an omega.”

“All alpha need an omega. This one is yours. Take care of it. It was expensive.” Teishin left the room. Takeda was tempted to leave too, but he wasn’t sure he should because Keishin’s father officially gave ownership over to the adult.

“Shit.” Ukai ran a hand across the top of his hair and walked out of the room. Takeda was quick to follow after him. He kept a distance between them. When he tried to follow the unpresented alpha into his bedroom, Keishin snapped. “You stay out of my room and out of my way.”

The door slammed shut in Takeda’s face. He rubbed the end of his nose and checked his glasses to make sure that they were okay. Takeda took a set on the floor outside Ukai’s bedroom. The carpet was soft and it was better than the underground he lived in before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to straighten out some things for the main story line and give a chance to take a closer look at the alpha's world. To do this I decided to provide a short break and supply Takeda's fuller story line this time around. It's an AU so I adjusted their ages a bit. Hopefully it was still enjoyable!


	6. Chapter 6

“What kind of work do you normally offer to the omega that live here?” Tsukishima placed another book on the shelf in the library. He volunteered to clean it since Ukai didn’t want Takeda to continue to push himself, despite that he was still in early stages of his pregnancy.

“It depends on the interests of the omega and what work we have available.” Kuroo pulled one of the texts off the shelf and examined the sleeve jacket.  “Anything that you have a particular interest in?”

“I was good at all the main subjects in school. I haven’t done anything for the last six years though, so I don’t know what I’m good at.”

“Well, I can drop some easy stuff by that the company usually hands out to freelancers. I’d run you through the basics and see if it’ll be a fit for you.”

“Sure, it’s getting hard to sit around all day doing nothing.”

“I’ll take a look at the available stuff tomorrow and come back around. Are you guys all doing okay? It’s been a while since we’ve seen you out in the yard.”

“We’re fine.” Tsukishima shut down again. It wasn’t Kuroo’s business to know about what they went through as omega.

“Right.” Tetsurō folded the book into his armpit. “I’ll let you get back to work here. See you tomorrow, maybe.”

“Bye.” The blond didn’t bother to hide the salt in his voice.

* * *

 

“I can no longer tell the difference between a five and an eight.”

“Well when you write your five’s like half of a sideways infinity sign, I can see why.” Daichi leaned over Asahi’s desk to look at what he was working on.

“At least help me.” Azumane dropped his head to the desk.

“We’re off in five minutes.” He pointed at the clock.

“Didn’t Kuroo stop by Ukai’s yesterday? What happened to those new omega?”

“They’re out and about again, but the one Kuroo talked to wouldn’t tell him anything specific. Apparently that one omega wants some work. I thought I might take this pile over and see if anyone is interested. Kuroo plans on taking some over as well. Anything you need done?”

“Not right now, but I’ll come with you.” He pushed away from the desk. “I can help train them if need be.”

“Thanks Asahi.”

“You like that silver haired omega, don’t you?”

“What?” Daichi dropped the manila folder he picked up from the outbox at Asahi’s desk.

“And everybody says I’m terrible at hiding my emotions.” Asahi stretched. “Five o’clock, let’s go to Ukai’s.”

* * *

“So you tally this column here down into the blank column at the bottom.” Kuroo traced his finger over the pages in front of Tsukishima as they sat at one of the tables on the porch of the main house. “It’s simple counting kind of math that’s often passed to the interns—but we don’t have one currently. You get five-hundred yen an hour. It isn’t much, but that’s all that the boss would agree on.”

“I’ll take it.” Tsukishima pulled the papers toward him and picked up a pen. He started sketching numbers into the columns as he did the semi-complicated math. “What kind of work did your associate bring?”

“Not sure.” Kuroo leaned back on the chair and looked over the railing into the yard. “Dai! What work did you bring?”

“Transcription documents.”

“This is more my style.” Tsukishima returned to the math.

“Did you bring anything Asahi?”

“No, I finished all my work solo. Feel kind of bad. I won’t try as hard tomorrow.”

“You could hire someone to teach you how to write the number five properly.” Daichi ribbed.

Asahi let out a high pitched keening sound.

“You can’t write the number five?”

“I can write a five, it just looks like half an eight.” He defended weakly.

“If you don’t have any work, can you hit some serves to me.” Nishinoya appeared behind the tall office worker and startled him. “I haven’t practiced volleyball in a while and I’m rusty. I want to get my skills back up so we can play a game.”

“Sure, I’ll hit some serves to you.” Asahi stepped away from the table where Daichi and Suga were discussing the job.

“Noya, if you want to practice picking up spikes too, let me know. I’ll set a few if need be. Akaashi is also available last I saw, unless he wants to stay in our room.” Kōshi offered with his mind still half on his work task.

“Thanks Suga!”

Nishinoya tossed the ball to Azumane. “Don’t hold back. I want to take your strongest hits.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. There’s only one way to grow and I want all you can throw at me. I used to pick up strong shots in middle school, but I’m sure they’re nothing like the high school ones would’ve been.”

“Asahi was our Ace in high school. Let him know if his hits are too hard or soft.”

“Got it!” Noya settled himself on the opposite side of the court. He crouched down with his legs spread wide and arms out in front of him ready for the ball.

They practiced for several hours while the other two omega learned to do the job more efficiently so they could get more done.

“I’ll bring some more stuff by like this if you like it.”

“It’s great. I feel like I’m doing things again.”

There was a loud slap against the volleyball as Asahi got a particularly good serve in. The ball met Noya’s forearms and shot up into the air into perfect position for the setter on the team. Suga was itching to play, but it was too dark at night.

“I think you’ve practiced enough for today, Noya.”

“Another hour!” He tried.

“Yū,” Suga whispered lovingly, like a parent taking care of their child.

“Can you come back tomorrow?” Noya’s eyes settled on the alpha across the court. “I was really getting a handle on those serves by the end.”

“Sure. I’ll drop by with Daichi and Kuroo.”

“Yes!” He jumped up and ran for the rooms. “See you tomorrow!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having trouble deciding which couple to build up first because there's so many. Please put your preferences in the comments below and then I can better decide which to address first. Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went down memory lane and read some fics I wrote for HQ!! less than a year ago and I was absolutely disgusted with myself and my writing. I know I knew how to write better than that. *cries*

“Hey Bo, can you do me a favor?” Kuroo asked as he toed off his shoes in the genkan.

“What is it, bro?”

“Take me out to the alleyway behind out apartment and shoot me.”

“Why do you want me to kill you?” The man, who looked similar to a gray horned owl,  arched his back over the couch to try and see his best friend better.

“I’ve done a thing that we told Ukai we wouldn’t.”

“You fucked one of the omega’s?”

“No! Not that.”

“What’d you do then?”

“I developed something like feelings for one of them. They just smell so good. There’s no way I can go back to the sanctuary now.” Kuroo threw himself facedown onto the couch, his stomach overlapped Bokuto’s thighs.

“But you haven’t fucked him.”

“You are no help.”

“I got down on my knees and groveled for forgiveness from an omega after my rut triggered their heat.”

“But you’re not trying to court them.”

“Well, I don’t want to scare them. They did smell good and from what I’ve seen, they have a fairly nice, but quiet, personality. I’m sure Ukai would accept you asking to pursue on the omega’s and agreeing to back down should the omega refuse courting.”

“You think so?”

“Sure.” Bokuto shrugged. “You never know unless you try. Other omega’s have married sanctuary donors.”

“Maybe I’ll hang out with the omega a little more before I approach Ukai.”

“Just make sure that Ukai doesn’t kick you out for getting too cuddly with them. He saves them from a life of getting harassed and attacked.”

“Fuuuuuuck me.” He pushed his face into the cushion so the words came out muffled.

“I’d rather not—no matter how much I love you, bro.”

* * *

“Do you have more math for me?” Tsukishima looked up when Kuroo and Daichi walked into the main courtyard with stacks of work for the willing omega.

“I actually have something a little closer to what I do every day. I’ll be going into rut next week and my work still has to be done.” Kuroo set the documents down in front of him. “Figured I’d show you what I do and then you can do it for me.”

“Why would I do that? I just learned the simpler stuff.”

“I’ll pay you triple what I’ve been paying you for the lower freelance stuff.”

“Okay.” Tsukishima agreed under his breath.

“Note to self, I can bribe you to do my work for me with money.” Kuroo winked at the blond.

“I rescind my agreement.”

“Too late, you already said yes.” Kuroo organized the work into two piles. “I need to talk to Ukai for a bit. Here’s the work that you’ve already learned if you want to work on it. I’ll teach the new stuff when I get back from our short meeting.”

Kei nodded tersely and immediately turned to the work at hand. Kuroo wandered back into the main house and closed Ukai’s office door behind him when he stepped inside.

“Must be serious.” The bottle blond pulled away from his work and leaned back in the cozy office chair.

“A little.” Kuroo shifted uncomfortably between his feet. “The easy stuff is that Tsukishima is taking over my work while I’m in rut next week. Daichi agreed to bring the daily stuff by.”

“Okay?” Ukai knew all of that was nothing out of the ordinary for them—it usually went to other omega’s.

“Also, I’m interested in one of the omega here. Right now I want to get to know them better, but if they reject me I promise to back down one-hundred percent without any questions.”

“Kuroo, you know the rules of the Sanctuary almost better than I do.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You know that it’s not a problem unless you physically accost them. If you want to pursue one of the omega, I don’t care. If you try to take one of them against their will, I will be forced to maim or kill you.”

“Understood.”

* * *

Tsukishima was a little lonely the next week when Daichi brought in Kuroo’s work for him. He worked on all of it without complaint, but he couldn’t help to wonder what an alpha in rut was like. He’d never experienced anything as harrowing as some of the others, particularly Suga, so he wasn’t as aware of what their mating cycles meant. Books only enlightened him so far.

“Um, Daichi-san, can I ask you something personal?” Tsukishima sat the table on the porch with the other alpha and Suga, who was working on Daichi’s freelancer things.

“How personal are we talking?”

“Well, Kuroo-san is out of commission this week and I’ve never really been around alpha’s. My parents were both beta’s, so I kind of wondered what a rut feels like. Books don’t really go into much detail.”

Sugawara stiffened at the topic, but the alpha pretended not to notice.

“I suppose they wouldn’t in an alpha dominant culture.” Daichi watched the silver haired omega for a further reaction. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to explain what it’s like for me. I can’t speak for all alpha or Kuroo though. You can always ask him when he gets back.”

“Suga-san, are you okay?” Kei made sure to check on his pack leader first.

“I’m fine. It’d be interesting to know the other side.”

“Well, obviously rut is meant for mating purposes. For me it’s a painful boner for the first day or so that I can’t get rid of, but then after that if I pop a knot or two a couple days in a row I’m fine. I don’t normally need any help, but the guys got me a joke alpha toy for my last birthday. I have yet to use it.” Daichi chuckled. “That reminds me, there’s some stores that do sell things for omega’s if you want anything for your heat.”

“I’m good.” Suga muttered darkly.

“I think I’m okay too.” Kei agreed.

“Pass it on to the others and let me know if they want anything. We want to make sure you guys are taken care of all the time.”

“We will.”

Tsukishima got the idea that ruts were much easier to deal with than heats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really glad I wrote this chapter in the middle of last month. I usually write closer to my deadline, but I was inspired. If I hadn't written it then, I might not have had an update for this month. I got turned down for a job I wanted and thought I would get and kind of lost the will to write anything. :/


	8. Chapter 8

“Thanks again for doing my work for me this last week.” There were bags under Kuroo’s eyes when he came to the main house on Sunday to pick up the paperwork. He still smelled stronger than usual and Tsukishima found himself leaning into the scent of juniper.

“No problem.” He hurriedly tried to hide his interest by showing the neatly tied stack of paperwork into Kuroo’s hands. “Hopefully I didn’t make too many mistakes.”

“I doubt you made any.” Tetsurō took several short breaths in quick succession. For a moment Kei swore he could hear the alpha’s heartbeat from two feet away. Kuroo swayed on his feet before he pulled away. “I’ll see you later this week when I have some minor work. I’m still coming down from my rut.”

“Yeah, later.” Tsukishima turned on his heel and walked down the porch of the main house to the grassy lot where some of the others were playing catch with a Frisbee.

Kuroo fell against the wall of the house and tried to get control over his thoughts. The smell of strawberries lingered on the porch. He needed to leave the Sanctuary before he did something he’d seriously regret.

 

 

* * *

“Hey Kuroo, I didn’t know you were dropping by today.” Daichi sat at the table on the porch with Suga and Akaashi.

“I had some extra work after I got off today and thought I’d bring it by to Tsukishima.”

“I can ask one of the other omega if they’d be willing to do it for you.” Suga stood.

“Does Tsukki not want to anymore?”

“He’s in heat this week.” Akaashi leaned back in his chair. “He’ll be able to help out again starting next week.”

“Oh.” Kuroo couldn’t stop the red flush that crawled up his neck and onto his ears.

A sharp cry of want split the air around them before a door slammed and the sound vanished. Sawamura had his hand on Tetsurō’s chest and pushed him firmly back to the house.

“Go home for the day, come back next week with more work. Suga and I will take care of this.” He lifted the paperwork from the man’s hands and passed it to the omega behind him. “Leave before you do something you regret.”

Kuroo swallowed hard and obeyed before he could give it a second thought.

* * *

“You’re late in visiting after Ukai got his last shipment in.” Kuroo commented as an alpha and omega couple walked into the entryway of the main house. It was a couple weeks after Tsukishima was in heat and he brought new work for the omega to do.

“We’ve been a bit busy.” The blonde woman waved off. “I can’t wait to see who he has though.”

“Are you still hoping that he’ll bring in someone you know?”

“I can’t give up hope.” She fisted her hand. “I’m not willing to give that up. I’ve saved a lot of omega from malicious attacks over the years—I don’t want to think that I’ve lost my chance.”

“There’s a lot of omega out there.” The man at her side whispered.

“And I was lucky to find you.” She wrapped her arm around his and pulled her omega closer for a quick hug.

“Your romance is the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard.” Kuroo teased. “Falling in love while saving him from a gang rape.”

“Yeah, if all the omega I saved did that I’d have over one-hundred omegas.”

“I’m really glad you don’t have a harem.” Her omega muttered.

“You’re more than enough.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m going to hang out with Bokuto, he doesn’t spread all this lovey-dovey stuff.”

“Aw, Kuroo, you know you want something like this too.” The alpha woman pulled the man down to her height to mess with his hair.

“Of course I do. I’m trying my best here.”

“Oh? Are you seducing one of Ukai’s omegas?”

“Trying.”

“Ooh, show me which one.” She continued to chant show me as they walked out onto the back porch.

“Saeko, they don’t know. Shut up.”

“Nee-san,” two surprised shouts echoed across the court yard followed by a quieter choked noise and the word: “Nii-san.”

“Ryū! Yū!” Saeko took off down the steps and was tackled by two of the omega from Ukai’s most recent purchase. Akiteru wasn’t far after his wife, but he passed her up to crash into the blond of Kuroo’s affections with a tight hug.

“Kei,” he whispered. “You’re here.”

“Nii-san,” Tsukishima whispered for a second time as he pressed himself into his older brother’s body.

“I’ve been so worried about you.” Saeko held the bald omega tighter than the small one at her side. “I’m so glad that you’re here with Ukai.”

“Me too, really.” Tears flowed from Tanaka’s eyes and dampened the shoulder of his sister’s t-shirt.

“Ah, it’s you!” Suga suddenly declared from his spot on the grass.

“I’m sorry?”

“You’re the alpha that saved me the night I presented.”

“Sorry I don’t remember you. I save a lot of omega that way.” She blushed.

“Well, thank you, at any rate.” Suga settled back. “I’m grateful that it brought me here eventually.”

“No problem.”

Tanaka pulled away from Saeko and wiped at his face with his forearm. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too. And I missed you, Yū.” She gave a proper hug to Nishinoya.

“How’d you meet your omega, Saeko-nee-san?”

“He was one of the omega’s I saved from a gang rape.” She put a hand protectively on his bicep. “After his heat was over he put himself in danger to try and find me.”

“I was hooked on the way you smell.” Akiteru grinned. He pulled Kei tighter to his body. “It’s a miracle that we found both our brothers here at Ukai’s.”

“It is.” She pressed a fleeting kiss to the top of Tanaka’s head. “Ryū, Yū—Kei as well—take some time to think about if you’d want to live with Akiteru and I. We’d be able to protect you at our just as easy and see you more.”

“My pack is here, nee-san.” Noya whispered. “I couldn’t abandon anyone that I spent my days with in the underground.”

“I understand. Your pack is important.” Saeko ruffled his hair. “We’ll come back to visit as much as possible. You can always give it a try too.”

“Kuroo-san,” Tsukishima stopped the alpha before he left in light of the reunion. “Did you bring me work?”

“I did, but you don’t have to—”

“I’ll have it done by tomorrow if that’s okay.”

‘Yeah, that’d be great.”

“Thank you.” Tsukishima took the papers from the alpha and pulled them to his chest.

“I should be the one thanking you.” Kuroo whispered as the blond darted back across the yard with his work for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any mistakes and for the delay on this chapter. I got a new job and idk yet if I like it... To top it off I came down with a nasty cold over the last few days and the cold combined with some bad days at work made me forget that I was supposed to write this chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

“Why are you here?” Tsukishima asked his older brother as he sat at the table on the porch trying to do the work Kuroo left for him.

“I’m hanging with my little bro.” Akiteru defended. “Am I not allowed to?”

“It’s not that, but don’t you have anything to do at home?”

“Not when Saeko isn’t home. Even though I’m bonded I can’t go wherever I please in public without a beta or friendly alpha by my side. I’m home all day alone and you can only clean so much. Plus the TV is all shitty reruns and remakes of the same dramas.” He leaned farther back in the chair. “Having Saeko walk me here in the morning before she goes to work gives me something to do. You guys have a volleyball net and friends to play games with. It’s much better than our house. Not that I’m trying to drive you away from staying there with us instead.”

“It is nice here.” Kei mumbled. He made another scratch on the paper to indicate a specific number.

“So, you’re doing Kuroo’s extra work for him?”

“Yeah, it gives me something else to do.”

“Do you still like dinosaurs?” Akiteru’s brown eyes settled on him with a weight that Kei wasn’t used to.

“I don’t know.”

“How different is the underground from this?”

“They’re not even comparable. Here I feel more like a human again. Living in the underground—I didn’t really exist. It wasn’t living. It wasn’t anything more than sitting in a crawl space praying that you didn’t die. For whatever that was worth.”

“I’m sorry that there was no one to protect you.”

“Do you want to tell me any stories about what happened down there?”

“I don’t know what to tell. We lost track of the days and years. I couldn’t even tell you how old I am right now. We all guess we’re in our twenties somewhere—we just go by what we knew before we were down there. Suga’s the oldest, by one year. We guessed that I’m somewhere around twenty-three which would make him twenty-five.”

“Kei, you’re telling me that you don’t know what year it is?”

“None of us do. We barely even saw a calendar and we counted days by heats, but you lose track of those too. Everyone tracks it on the wall, but we stopped being able to tell who left what marks or even if those marks were for heats once we got a lot of people down there.” Tsukishima shrugged. “All of us that are here were the oldest of the group. Mostly everyone else were newly presented.”

“And you think you’re twenty-three.”

“Somewhere close to there.” His eyebrows crinkled together. “Nii-san, do you know how old I am?”

“Kei, you’re twenty-seven.”

His hands froze in his work. “We’re off by four years?”

“Your age is probably why Ukai was able to purchase all of you for such a low price. As omega’s you don’t have much more time before breeding is considered useless.”

“But—” Tsukishima couldn’t form a coherent thought, let alone words.

“Kei?” Akiteru dropped his chair back to the floor and lifted a hand to rub soothing circles between his brother’s shoulder blades. “I—uh, are you okay?”

“I lost four years of my life in five seconds, do you think I’m okay?”

“I shouldn’t have dropped that on you. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s—” he took a deep breath. “It’s better to know. I can tell the other guys in our group and we can look at thing differently. We’re older than we thought, it’s simple really.”

“Kei,” Akiteru pulled him against his chest for a tight hug. Tsukishima pressed his nose into the right side of his brother’s neck near the collarbone and breathed in the release of pheromones. He smelled like lavender on a warm spring day. It reminded him of home before he was ever in the underground.

“You and Saeko-san were looking for us for a long time, weren’t you?”

“Ever since we found out what you presented as. The worst crossed our minds on multiple occasions, but we never gave up on finding you.”

“Thank you, for searching.”

“It was no problem. You’re my brother. I’d go to the ends of the earth to make sure you were alive.”

“Nii-san,” a question formed on his lips, but Tsukishima couldn’t bring himself to ask about it. “When I’m ready can I ask you an important question?”

“Of course. I’ll be here for you to ask whatever you’d like.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

“That is one-hundred percent a courting gift.” Bokuto said for the seventeenth time during their walk to Ukai’s sanctuary.

“It’s not. Akiteru mentioned he liked this stuff when he was younger and I thought I might give him something to decorate his room since they can’t go out shopping.”

“You scented the thing.” Kōtarō was in the mood to take absolutely zero shit from his best friend.

“I didn’t scent it.” Tetsurō defended weakly.

“Because nuzzling the thing to death while releasing enough pheromones to scent mark an entire apartment complex was definitely not scenting it.”

“Shut up.”

“If he doesn’t want it because it reeks of you, you can’t blame me for not warning you.” Bokuto shoved his hands into his pockets and sped up his pace.

“Shit, what do I do if he accepts it?”

“Make it clear you want to court him.”

“Easy for you to say. Maybe it’d live out a better life in this bush.”

“Then the whole block will reek of you. Give Tsukki the damn dinosaur plushy and live with your decision.” The owl look-alike grabbed his arm and pulled him through the main entrance of the sanctuary.

“Kuroo-san,” the blond looked up as soon as they entered the courtyard space. Bokuto let go of his friend and made his way over to the larger group of omega’s to chat with them about something.

“Hey.” Kuroo rubbed the back of his neck and tried to push back the blush spreading across his neck and cheeks. He lifted his other arm and thrust the green plushy towards the man. “Your brother mentioned you used to like dinosaurs and shit as a kid, so I thought you could put this in your room. Only if you want to, of course. You could shove it under the porch too, I guess.”

Tsukishima took it hesitantly from the alpha’s hand and lifted it to his nose. “It smells like you.”

“Yeah, I had it around my house a few days—ya know. Kind of soaked up some of the smell. I can’ take it back.”

“It’s fine.” Kei ran his fingers over the scales sticking out of the stegosaurus’ back. “It’s smile is kind of comforting.”

“Right.”

“This is the kind of thing they say alpha’s used to give omega when they wanted to court them.”

Kuroo combusted on the spot. “I didn’t really think of it that way.” _Shit, that wasn’t what I wanted to say_.

“I see.” Tsukishima turned away and lowered the dinosaur to the porch railing. “Thank you at any rate. I have some other things to tend to.”

He stepped off the porch and back toward the omega rooms.

_Fuck_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whaaaaat another chapter? Oui. I typed it out and decided not to hold it until next month. Plus it was too cute not to share. ;)


	10. Chapter 10

“Is that a courting gift?” Hinata asked excitedly when he saw and _smelled_ the dinosaur addition to their room.

Tsukishima shook his head. “He said it wasn’t.”

“Lame.” The red head fell back against his futon like a starfish. “I thought he liked you.”

_I did too._

“Well, it is a cute dinosaur.” Suga affectionately ruffled Tsukishima’s hair—risking the glare the omega passed him.

“It’s the nicest thing any of us have owned for over ten years.” Akaashi agreed. “You should make him something as a thank you.”

“Make him a knife.” Iwaizumi offered from the far corner. “You always had a knack for weapons crafting while we were underground.”

“Yeah! Make him a knife with a pretty fish bone handle like the one you made for that newly presented omega that woke up from rape nightmares all the time.” Hinata said it all in one breath.

“I don’t know.” Kei set the dinosaur near his pillow. “Won’t it seem odd?”

“Turn it into a side business for the sanctuary. You make brilliant weapons—I’m sure they’d sell well outside.”

“I’ll see if Ukai can get me materials, but if it’s a really nice one, I’m keeping it for myself.”

“What would you do with a knife?” His new brother-in-law asked.

“Shank you guys in your sleep.”

* * *

“Ukai-san,” Tsukishima held one wrist with his other hand and tried not to fidget with the hem of his clothes. He ran through several options on how to phrase his request. “I used to do a little weapons crafting in the underground and I thought that if I did it now you could sell them for extra profit.”

“Are they good?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Tell me what you need.”

* * *

“Hi, I’m Iwaizumi Hajime. I’ll be taking care of your extra work in Tsukishima’s place. He taught me how to do it.”

For a moment Kuroo thought the burly man before him was an alpha—but the sweet honey smell labeled him as an omega.  “Did I do something to insult him?”

“No, well, who knows—it’s Tsukishima. Ukai found a job for him that might bring in some big funds for the sanctuary.”

“It must be a good business venture.” Kuroo sat the stack on the table.

“We’re hoping so.” Iwaizumi unwrapped the stack of papers. “Sorry to steal his time away from you.”

“It’s fine. I can get to know you. You’re one of the ones that’s avoided us.”

“I’m not terribly fond of most alpha. I find them annoying. No offense to you personally.”

“Nah, I’m sure I’m one of the worse ones. Plus, I hang out with a handful of annoying friends.” Kuroo settled back in his seat. “What things do you like doing?”

“I was the guard dog a lot for our underground colony. It was most of the time if I’m honest, but that’s not a need here.”

“I can see why you were the guard. If not for the smell I’d mistake you for an alpha.”

“I worked hard on that.”

“It paid off.” Kuroo’s attention was drawn away by the tall blond making his way across the courtyard.

“You should tell him you like him.” Iwaizumi hunched his shoulders over the table.

“Huh?”

“He likes the dinosaur. We were all disappointed it wasn’t a courting gift. He was too, even if he doesn’t show it.”

“Oh.” Kuroo coughed. “It was meant that way, but I couldn’t get the right words out of my mouth.”

“You could clarify it with him.”

“He’s busy though.” Kuroo ducked his head.

Iwaizumi didn’t reply. The ball was in his court and if Kuroo chose not to do anything, then nothing would happen. Tetsurō knew that, but he couldn’t bring himself to interrupt the omega if he was doing work for Ukai. It was like him at work. He had a job and he would do that job until it was complete. He hated interruptions.

“Suit yourself.” Iwaizumi didn’t speak for the remainder of their work session.

* * *

“Why the hell are we in charge of fixing their relationship issues?” Hajime leaned against the wall while Sugawara peered around the corner of the building.

“Because they can’t figure it out on their own.” Kōshi whispered furiously. “If they have a chance at a semi-good relationship, then we should encourage it as much as possible. Plus, I think they balance each other out. It’d be good if we all could marry good alpha that see us as our own person.”

“So, are you going to do anything about your own infatuation over the alpha named Sawamura?” The man challenged. Suga spluttered and tried to come up with an appropriate answer, but failed several times.

“Daichi and I are different.” He finally managed.

“You call him by his first name?” Iwaizumi’s left eyebrow shot up his forehead.

“Shut up.” The omega’s entire face was red. “We’re focusing on Tsukishima and Kuroo right now.”

“The ball is in Kuroo’s court, though. He fucked up, he needs to fix it.”

“Hush. You are here to help me in my grand scheme.”

“What are we doing?”

“Delivering a very important and terribly written love letter to Tsukishima.”

“Why are we sneaking around?”

“Because it’s more fun.” Suga strode forward with the plain enveloped carefully pristine in front of him.

“Suga, you’re going to make it worse.” The omega called after the pack leader.

“Am not.” He handed the letter to Tsukishima. The blond looked at it skeptically. He opened it after the silver haired omega walked away.

“I know this is your handwriting, you asshole!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every time I think of the title of this story I picture the scene from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" where Quasimodo lifts Emeralda over his head and screams "SANCTUARY!"
> 
> Also, I have a wicked cough that I can't get rid of. Somebody save me. I'm gonna lose an entire lung in this struggle I swear.


	11. Chapter 11

The knife had a beautiful cherry handle with a silver in-lay designed to look like a tree growing from the base. The blade was made of steel and was fatter at the top of the blade where Tsukishima didn’t sharpen it. He folded the blade into the tree casket and tested the weight.

“Did you finish?” Sugawara leaned against the doorway of the small space Ukai had set up for Tsukishima’s work.

The beta, Yamaguchi Tadashi, sat behind him in the workspace. He took up helping the omega once he saw the first few developed blades and larger weapons. Tsukishima wasn’t happy about the addition at first, but the beta was quiet. The blond liked quiet.

“Yeah, it’s the one.” Kei pulled off his glasses and used his arm to wipe away the sweat dripping from his hairline.

“It’s beautiful, like all the others are.”

Tsukishima frowned. “I don’t want it to be like all the others.”

He set the knife down on the table among all the other knife’s he made over the last couple weeks and the metal working inside the wood carving on the handle stood out amongst them.

“I was wrong.” Yamaguchi breathed. “It’s better than the others by far.”

“It’ll do.” Kei turned his head away

“I’m sure he’ll like it.”

“If he likes trees.” Tsukishima ran his fingers over the other knife handles and examined the wildlife he used as tests until he found a carving he liked.

“Who doesn’t like trees?” Tadashi offered as comfort. “If he likes you even a little bit he’ll love it.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“He does. We all know it.” The freckled beta stood. “It’s as clear as the fact that Daichi like Sugawara and Bokuto likes Akashi. Though at this rate I don’t think either of them are going to do anything about it.”

Tsukishima picked up the knife again. “I’m going to go clean up and see when Kuroo will be here next.”

Except, when he walked out of the workspace he found Kuroo on the porch with Iwaizumi, Daichi, and Suga. Tsukishima clutched the knife in his hand tighter before he hurried off to the dormitory showers. He caught a slight show of disappointment on Kuroo’s face out of the corner of his eye and hoped he imagined it.

* * *

“Is Tsukishima done with his special project?” Iwaizumi called over to Yamaguchi.

“Yes, it’s amazing.” The beta grinned. “I’m sure you’ll get to see it soon enough. Tsukki said earlier he wanted a couple day break before he put his nose to another project. Plus Ukai has to see if he can sell them.”

“I’m sure he will.” Hajime flicked the last page of Kuroo’s extra work over onto the completed stack.

“You’re a fast worker, Iwaizumi.” Kuroo complimented with a wry grin. He tried not to feel outed from the conversation—but he had no idea what they were talking about.

“You’ll stay and hang out with us a little longer, won’t you?” Yamaguchi asked the alpha as he started to clean up his things.

“What would we do?”

“Talk, get to know each other better. I’ve worked here for years and I don’t even know your favorite color.”

“It’s red, am I free to go now?”

Suga pulled Daichi closer to him and whispered something in his ear. Surprise registered across the other alpha’s face before he quickly turned to his friend.

“I’m sure you can stay around a little longer and chat. Suga and I still need to finished up my extra work. Company is always better.”

“Yamaguchi can stay and chat with you." Kuroo shoved the beta forward on the porch.

"Kuroo, stay." Daichi barked. The two omega next to him flinched away from the alpha command, even if it wasn't directed at them, and Tetsurō bristled. A low snarl ripped from his throat as he was about to challenge the other alpha, when a soft voice interrupted them.

"Kuroo-san?"

He whipped around, his hackles still raised, but he immediately deflated when the omega took a scared step back. "Tsukki."

"Is this a bad time?"

"No, no, of course not. What did you want?"

"Can I speak to you, over there?" He pointed across the courtyard away from the porch. Smiles sneaked onto the other's faces, but Kuroo's focused solely on the blond.

"Yeah, that's good." He followed him obediently and Tsukishima played with something in his hands as they walked.

"I know the dinosaur wasn't meant as a courting gift," Kei started when they reached the other side. Kuroo flushed a brilliant red. "And, fuck, this is totally backwards, but I really wanted the dinosaur to mean something more."

Tetsurō opened his mouth to say something, but a glance at the nervousness playing across Tsukishima's face made him shut it again.

"So if you don't want this to mean anything, then it can stand as a simple 'thank you', but I made this for you to express that I like you a lot more than I probably should." He held out the object in his hands and Kuroo stared at it in surprise. It was gorgeous. He gently lifted it and realized by the weight that it was a knife. He flipped open the blade and admired the handiwork between the connection of the metal to the wood and the stunning design in the handle.

"I freaked out when I told you it wasn't a courting gift. I scented the damn thing, but when I actually saw you I froze." He closed the blade again. "This knife means everything to me and I want that something more with you."

Tsukishima's cheeks flamed and matched his in color. Kuroo reached out and pulled the blond into a firm hug.

"Thank you." Kuroo whispered against his ear.

"Okay."

Kei took advantage of their closeness and pressed his nose against the scene gland on the right side of Tetsurō's neck. The alpha breathed in sharply, but let the omega take advantage of his scent.

"You smell like Juniper." He muttered lowly. "I like it."

"Good, because I love your strawberry scent."

Tsukishima hummed lowly and pulled away. "What does courting mean for you?"

"It means I'll be coming over so often to see you that you'll be sick of me."

"I'm going to be making knife's for Ukai though."

"Then I'll watch you work, I don't mind."

Kei pulled a face. "I might."

"Too bad." Kuroo nipped Tsukishima's nose with his teeth and surprised the omega. It was a bite of fondness, but also a way to reprimand. "This is what you get for giving me such a nice gift."

"I regret everything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise to update this at least once a month! I meant to write more last month and then I realized that I'm seriously behind on writing and editing FHOH. I thought I had more chapters edited, but I haven't even started on chapter 13 and it's due on the 15th. Here's to hoping I can finish writing and editing it quick to devote more time to Sanctuary!


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